Russia, the largest country in the world, has 11 time-zones. The establishment of standardized time started in Russia in 1880, with the introduction of Moscow Mean Time (GMT +2.30 hours). Different parts of the country continued to follow their own local time until 1919 when different time zones were introduced in the country. Until 2014, the country had nine time-zones but added two more. Let’s explore all the different time zones of Russia.
11 time zones that span the nation are:
In Kaliningrad, the time is set to UTC+2, which is closer to the time in Central Europe than the rest of Russia. This time zone covers the entire Kaliningrad Oblast.
In Moscow, the time is set to UTC+3, which means it’s a little ahead in time. Moscow sets the schedule for everyone else in Russia, deciding when businesses open and close. This time zone covers a significant part of western Russia, including Moscow and Moscow Oblast.
This time zone is like a bridge connecting Europe and Asia. This time zone includes areas that are right in the middle of both continents, showing how Russia spreads across two parts of the world. The areas covered in this time zone are: Samara Oblast, Udmurtia, Astrakhan Oblast, Saratov Oblast, and Ulyanovsk Oblast.
As we move towards the Ural Mountains, there’s a special time zone called Yekaterinburg Time (UTC+5). This areas covered in this time zone are: Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Kurgan Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Tyumen Oblast and Yamalia. This time zone is like a door to Siberia, a huge part of Russia.
In Omsk , the time is set to UTC+6. This time zone covers the entire Omsk Oblast.
This time zone marks the start of Eastern Siberia and includes areas like Altai Krai, Altai Republic, Kemerovo Oblast, Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Novosibirsk Oblast, Tomsk Oblast and Tuva.
This time zone includes areas like Irkutsk Oblast, which is right by the beautiful Lake Baikal. Being in the Irkutsk Time Zone is like getting a front-row seat to see the stunning landscapes and special ecosystems of Siberia.
This time zone includes Amur Oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai and most of the Sakha Republic, where the ground stays frozen all the time. It’s like a special area where it’s super, super cold. This is one of the coldest places where people live on Earth.
The areas covered in this time zone are Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, Primorsky Krai, and the Oymyakonsky, Ust-Yansky and Verkhoyansky districts of the Sakha Republic.
This time zone brings us to the northeastern edge of the Asian continent, covering regions such as Magadan Oblast, Sakhalin Oblast, and the Abyysky, Allaikhovsky, Momsky, Nizhnekolymsky, Srednekolymsky and Verkhnekolymsky districts of the Sakha Republic. This time zone is in a remote and faraway part of Russia. The weather here can be really tough, with a harsh climate.
Kamchatka Time is at UTC+12, which means it’s the last time zone, marking the farthest point to the east in Russia. This time covers Chukotka and Kamchatka Krai.
In 1930, the USSR decided to turn forward all clocks by an hour, (across all its time zones) thus establishing DST (Daylight Saving Time) all year round. This measure was called Decree Time and was used as a measure to save energy. In 1991, again it was abolished only to be reinstated in some zones. In 2011, year-round summer time was enforced. In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the entire country would switch to permanent winter time and abolished the use of DST. This is because the Russian government has received reports linking permanent summer time to health issues and stress, particularly in northern Russia.
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